Golf has been a popular sport throughout the world for many years. Its popularity has been steadily increasing both in the United States and abroad. As such, golfers have continuously strived to lower their scores by increased practice time and by purchasing various accessories which may give them advantageous results over competing players.
One particular area which golfers continuously strive to improve is their aim. Although the golf swing is made up of several elements including initially obtaining a proper stance, concentration during the downswing, proper shifting of a player's weight and the follow through, the basis for achieving a successful golf swing and accurate aim is first obtaining an optimal stance. As evidenced by the crowded nature of the golf training art, inventors have expended great efforts in developing golf swing training aids and aim improvement devices including devices for aiding golfers in obtaining a proper stance during driving and iron shots.
Despite the crowded nature of the prior art, all of the known devices have drawbacks which render them undesirable or illegal for use during play. In this regard, several known golf training devices include a wedge-shaped device which is adapted to be connected to the outer portion of the sole of a golfer's shoe. These illegal devices are generally used to cant one of the golfer's feet to facilitate proper shifting of a golfer's body weight during the swing. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,819,940 to Davis and 4,073,375 to O'Brien.
Still other attempts at improving a golfer's stance are evidenced by prior art devices that are adapted to be fastened to the heel of a golf shoe, such as the illegal device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,903 to Percic.
The prior art also includes inserts for golf shoes which cause a golfer's foot to be canted either to the left or to the right for the purpose of improving a golfer's balance by shifting of the golfer's body weight and body position during a golf swing. Examples of the illegal insert-type devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,212,894 to Paparo and 4,953,311 to Bruggemeier.
External feet positioning indicators which may be useful for illustrating the proper positioning of a golfer's feet during practice, have also been proposed to aid a golfer in obtaining an optimal stance. These devices are not generally used during play as they are too awkward to carry around for use on a golf course. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,229,981 to Taber and 3,122,846 to Trent.
Putting aids have also been disclosed in the prior art to facilitate the alignment of a golf shoe with a golf ball so that a golfer's putting ability may be enhanced. An example of such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,503,586 to Miller. Although this device may be useful for putting purposes, it has no use whatsoever for driving and iron shots as it does not facilitate positioning of the golfer's feet relative to each other.
All of the foregoing prior art devices which are intended to improve a golfer's swing during driving and iron shots, have the major drawback of being illegal under PGA rules. In particular, the PGA rules do not permit golfers to use any physical aids for improving their swing to lower their golf score.
The present invention solves the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art by providing means for aiding a golfer in obtaining an optimal golf stance during driving and iron shots so that the golfer's aim may be improved. Additionally, the present invention is useful during practice and official play, as it meets all requirements of the PGA rules.